NATO warned Russia this Thursday that renewed aggression against Ukraine would have “massive consequences” and would have a “high cost,” and called on Moscow to begin “immediate relief” of tensions with Kiev.
In a statement released tonight, the Atlantic Alliance countries said they were “seriously concerned about the substantial, unprovoked and unjustified” build-up of Russian military power on the border with Ukraine.
Thus, the Atlantic Alliance appealed to Russia with an appeal to “immediately reduce” tensions with Kiev.
The allies also highlighted support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and asked Moscow to “withdraw” its troops from the country, according to a press release quoted by the EFE news agency.
“We reject any attempt to share the security of the Alliance,” NATO members stressed.
The military organization also stated that it is “seriously” analyzing the implications of the current situation for the Alliance and has ensured that it will “always respond firmly” and take “all necessary measures” to ensure the safety and protection of all its members. .,
NATO countries also believe that this response will be “strictly coordinated” with relevant actors such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) or the European Union (EU).
And they called on Russia to “follow diplomatic channels” and fulfill international obligations on “transparency in military activities.”
The Atlantic Alliance has also shown a willingness to maintain a “constructive dialogue” with Russia and again invited Moscow to a meeting “in the near future.”
NATO has assured that the organism’s relationship with Kiev “is a problem that concerns only Ukraine and its 30 allies” and that they support the right of all countries to “determine their own future and their free foreign policy of external interference.”
The statement spoke of Russia’s demands to prevent Ukraine from joining the Atlantic Alliance.
“We will not take on any obligations regarding Ukraine’s right to choose its own path, we will not take on any obligations regarding NATO’s right to defend and defend all Allies, and we will not take on any obligations to maintain NATO’s partnership with Ukraine, ”it was announced earlier. Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the organization’s headquarters in Brussels.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has accused Russia of staging more than 90,000 soldiers on the border between the two countries in order to attack its territory in the winter.
At the same time, Moscow accused Kiev of having concentrated 125 thousand troops (that is, half of the troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine) in the Donbass region (in the east), in the middle of the front line.
Since 2014, Ukraine has become the arena of a conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, which has already resulted in more than 13,000 deaths and began after the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia.
Putin has repeatedly consulted with Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about the invasion, Europa Press told Ukraine’s chief intelligence director Vadim Skibitsky.
According to Skibitsky, it was the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which is responsible for counterintelligence and espionage work, that put pressure on Gerasimov and other military agencies to agree to launch an offensive. .
However, according to the Ukrainian intelligence services, the FSB considered that by the end of February sufficient preparations had already been made to guarantee the success of the Russian Armed Forces in a lightning invasion.
However, according to Kyiv, the Russian General Staff provided the Russian troops with supplies and ammunition for only three days, hoping that the offensive would be swift and immediately successful.
The head of Ukrainian intelligence also emphasized the cooperation of local residents, who always provided the Ukrainian authorities with up-to-date information about the Russian army, such as the number of soldiers or the exact location of troops.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine caused at least 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million refugees to European countries, which is why the UN classifies this migration crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945). gg.). ).
At the moment, 17.7 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.
The UN has presented as confirmed 6,755 civilian deaths and 10,607 wounded since the beginning of the war, stressing that these figures are much lower than the real ones.
A Stockholm court on Monday sentenced a former Swedish intelligence officer to life in prison for spying for Russia, and his brother to at least 12 years in prison. In what is considered one of the most serious cases in Swedish counterintelligence history, much of the trial took place behind closed doors in the name of national security.
According to the prosecution, it was Russian military intelligence, the GRU, who took advantage of the information provided by the two brothers between 2011 and their arrest at the end of 2021.
Peyman Kia, 42, has held many senior positions in the Swedish security apparatus, including the army and his country’s intelligence services (Säpo). His younger brother, Payam, 35, is accused of “participating in the planning” of the plot and of “managing contacts with Russia and the GRU, including passing on information and receiving financial rewards.”
Both men deny the charges, and their lawyers have demanded an acquittal on charges of “aggravated espionage,” according to the Swedish news agency TT.
The trial coincides with another case of alleged Russian espionage, with the arrest of the Russian-born couple in late November in a suburb of Stockholm by a police team arriving at dawn in a Blackhawk helicopter.
Research website Bellingcat identified them as Sergei Skvortsov and Elena Kulkova. The couple allegedly acted as sleeper agents for Moscow, having moved to Sweden in the late 1990s.
According to Swedish press reports, the couple ran companies specializing in the import and export of electronic components and industrial technology.
The man was again detained at the end of November for “illegal intelligence activities.” His partner, suspected of being an accomplice, has been released but remains under investigation.
According to Swedish authorities, the arrests are not related to the trial of the Kia brothers.
“They can strengthen their positions. We understand that this can happen. At the same time, we do not rule out that they will announce a general mobilization,” Danilov said in an interview with the Ukrainska Pravda online publication.
Danilov believed that this mobilization would also be convened “to exterminate as many as possible” of Russian citizens, so that “they would no longer have any problems on their territory.”
In this sense, Danilov also reminded that Russia has not given up on securing control over Kyiv or the idea of the complete “destruction” of Ukraine. “We have to be ready for anything,” he said.
“I want everyone to understand that [os russos] they have not given up on the idea of destroying our nation. If they don’t have Kyiv in their hands, they won’t have anything in their hands, we must understand this,” continued Danilov, who also did not rule out that a new Russian offensive would come from “Belarus and other territories.” .
As such, Danilov praised the decision of many of its residents who chose to stay in the Ukrainian capital when the war broke out in order to defend the city.
“They expected that there would be panic, that people would run, that there would be nothing to protect Kyiv,” he added, referring to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine caused at least 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million refugees to European countries, which is why the UN classifies this migration crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945). gg.). ).
At the moment, 17.7 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.
The Russian invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
The UN has presented as confirmed 6,755 civilian deaths and 10,607 wounded since the beginning of the war, stressing that these figures are much lower than the real ones.
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